Indulging in arts is one of the best ways for people to escape reality and enter into a whole new realm, one that they can build from their imagination. The study of arts covers many domains such as acting, sketching, music, and theatre. One learns to express themselves creatively and build self-expression. It isn’t only something that one can admire in their free time, for instance looking at a painting on a wall. But it is also something that can provoke, soothe, excite and inspire. It reminds us that we are all sharing a universal human experience. One may even conclude that we cannot live without art!

Art in college is a subject that most students like to pursue. When asked, “how do the arts benefit students?”, there are multiple answers that come to mind. However, the most important may be the development of critical thinking in students. While in college, students are required to present art critique essays as part of their academic course, examples of which can be found at https://graduateway.com/essay-examples/art-critique/. Reading up on quality samples of such art critique essay examples help students write better papers for class. It also increases their knowledge base and helps them get better acquainted with the subject at hand.

Reading as many essay examples as is possible can help enhance creative skills in college art students. Arts students may often find the therapeutic power of indulging in a creative endeavor such as playing music or painting a picture. It can impact the mood and emotions of an individual and inspire them to elevate themselves. Not all students choose art as a major, and some choose to do it to help cope with the stress that often accompanies college.

Here are some of the ways how art helps students. 

1. Studying arts makes students smarter

Indulging in any creative activity provides individuals with room for improvement. No matter how good a person is in their chosen field of art, there is always a possibility of doing better. When one begins to nurture their skills, they realize that they can do better and learn to handle criticism well. 

Creating an art piece also requires the individual to exercise parts of their brains that would not have been used if not for the creative venture. By learning to use their emotions and putting their thoughts on paper, students learn to bring out the best within themselves. They learn to tap into their creative side and use their motor skills to accompany their imagination. 

2. It helps students succeed in college:

Hard work and commitment are life skills that one must master before entering the real world. Indulging in any form of art may be a stepping stone into learning these essential qualities that can become a part of your lifestyle. It takes a lot of hard work and commitment on an individual’s part to become good at anything. Art is no different, requiring a lot of patience and passion from its creators. One’s commitment to learning anything can require time, sacrifice, and energy. Students who can commit to learning a new instrument or nurturing their performance can surely keep up with their future lives.

Creating art is fun, but it can be quite grueling at the same time. Students who understand that any masterpiece requires hard work can learn the relationship between achievement and struggle. Good things take time, and that which comes easy may not be worth it. Individuals who are unafraid to take on challenges are better equipped to handle life challenges later on.

3. It has an impact on students’ physical and emotional health:

Art engagement has been known to have a significant impact on one’s emotional and mental health. It is normal for students to be overwhelmed with the number of college assignments and not come up with topics for their papers. Going through art critique essay examples may help those struggling to find topics for their essays; more tips on which can be found here: http://augustafreepress.com/what-to-do-when-you-cant-choose-a-topic-on-an-essay/. Students who have found art as a means to release their stress are generally happier and calmer. They also report less anxiety, stress, and depression than others.

Studies have shown that individuals who have perfected the art of creative expression have better immune systems than those who haven’t. It has also been clinically proven to elevate one’s mood, reduce stress and lower one’s blood pressure. There have been researches that found patients in a hospital who were exposed to music healed faster than their counterparts.

There are several benefits of studying art that have been proven to help students deal with the stress of keeping up with college. One may benefit significantly by taking up an instrument or simply playing some music and dancing while in university.

The Cheltenham Festival is on the horizon and as attention starts to turn towards the Prestbury Park meeting, it is of course Al Boum Photo who will be looking to steal the headlines this year. The Willie Mullins-trained horse is the heavy favourite in the  Gold Cup betting odds, and victory would mean a third successive triumph in the Festival’s showpiece for the nine-year-old. That would also see his name etched into the history books alongside the legendary Arkle and fan-favourite Best Mate.

However, winning a third Gold Cup on the trot for Al Boum Photo will be no easy task. His recent 19-length victory in the New Year’s Day Chase at Tramore would have given his backers a boost in confidence ahead of the showpiece, but still the racecard is littered with fantastic horses as well.

A Plus Tard and Royale Pagaille are his nearest opponents at 7/1 and 10/1 respectively. But that’s not grounds to rule out Nicky Henderson’s duo of Champ and Santini or the likes of 16/1 shots Frodon, Kemboy and Native River, who will all head to the Gloucestershire Course on the back of emphatic victories of late.

Kemboy is one to note in particular. He went five races without a win, but his recent victory in the Irish Gold Cup could be a shift in momentum for the nine-year-old, and it may have just come at the perfect time with Cheltenham just around the corner.

Kemboy lined up alongside three other early entries for the Cheltenham showpiece, Delta Work, Melon and Minella Indo. The latter, trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Rachael Blackmore, was heavily expected to win the race. However, Kemboy, who led pretty much from the off, went on to win by two lengths, with The Storyteller romping home in second, whilst Minella Indo massively underperformed.

Victory in the £200,000 Irish showpiece alone has resulted in Kemboy’s odds of winning the Gold Cup being slashed from around 30/1 to inwards of 16/1, and many punters would now fancy splashing their free bets for Cheltenham on Betfair Exchange on him at that price.

However, whilst bolstering his chances of winning another Gold Cup by confirming the entry, Kemboy seems like a real possibility for Mullins. The Irish trainer seemed a bit sceptical when quizzed about what we can expect to see from the nine-year-old at the Festival, if we are even going to see him at all.

“He is entered in the Stayers’ Hurdle and the Gold Cup,” Mullins, who had just landed his 11^th Irish Gold Cup, said. “His record over fences at Cheltenham is a little bit average, so the Stayers’ is not out of the question, and skipping Cheltenham and going straight to Aintree is another option. We know he likes it there.”

Mullins’ words don’t fill us with confidence that he would put Kemboy up against Al Boum Photo, and we guess he more than anyone would know how the former would fare against his stablemate.

For the Irish trainer, it could be a case of not wanting to jeopardise his chances of landing the rare feat of three Gold Cups, and focusing attention elsewhere, like the Stayers’ Hurdle, where Kemboy is shorter at 12/1, is not a bad idea on the whole.

The Cheltenham Festival is fast approaching. Four action-packed days at Prestbury Park await us in March, and it will certainly be enough to keep us entertained should we still be in lockdown by then. Many punters will undoubtedly have their eyes fixed on the Cheltenham results in the hopes that their singles, doubles, trebles or accumulators come rolling in.

Of course, everybody loves a good outsider at the Cheltenham Festival, and to save you the time of scouring through the form guides to find one worth backing, we have done all the hard work. So, read on as we list some of the outsiders who could be in with a shout in the big races at this year’s meeting!

Franco De Port – Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase

Franco De Port pulled up in the Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle at last year’s Festival. However, he has bounced back since then with two victories at Thurles and Leopardstown in Ireland. His Boxing Day win at Leopardstown is worth noting as it was the Willie Mullins-trained horse’s first victory at Grade 1 level. The six-year-old is a 16/1 shot for the Arkle on day one, but given his recent form, he might not be a bad each way shout! The Leopardstown Arkle on February 6^th could be a good indication on how he will get on at Cheltenham.

Concertista – Champion Hurdle

Concertista is another Mullins-trained horse who could nab a victory from left of field. The seven-year-old won the Grade 2 Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle by a comfortable 12 lengths last year, and she has been in inspired form since, with two further victories at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown. It’ll be a big ask for Concertista to beat the likes of Epatante, but at 10/1, she could worth backing each way in the Champion Hurdle.

First Flow – Queen Mother Champion Chase

The Queen Mother Champion Chase is set to feature a highly competitive field this year with Chacun Pour Soi and Altior both returning from the injuries which made them miss out on last year’s race, whilst defending champion Politologue will also line-up for starter’s orders. However, when studying the form guides, you can’t help but notice First Flow. With six wins on the trot, including in the Grade 1 Clarence House Chase at Ascot, where he beat Politologue by some seven lengths, the 14/1 shot is in red-hot form. Given the Kim Bailey-trained horse’s form, and the fact he beat Politologue rather comfortably, you wouldn’t be surprised to see his name amongst the placings.

A Plus Tard – Ryanair Chase

A Plus Tard and jockey Rachael Blackmore are no strangers to winning big races. The pair have already won together at the Cheltenham Festival, with the seven-year-old winning the listed Novices’ Handicap Chase in 2019, and since then they have won twice at Grade 1 level: the Paddy’s Rewards Club “Loyalty’s Dead, Live For Rewards” Chase and more recently the Savills Chase at Leopardstown. A Plus Tard has placed in all 10 of his races since joining Henry de Bromhead’s stables, and at 16/1 for the Ryanair Chase, an each way beat is far from a bad shout.

Flooring Porter – Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle

Flooring Porter may be making his debut at the Cheltenham Festival this year, but it would be foolish to rule him out on that account. After all, he is already a Grade 1 winner. The six-year-old was an 11/1 shot to win the Christmas Hurdle at Leopardstown back in December, but in the end it was a rather comfortable victory for the Gavin Cromwell-trained horse, as he went on to beat The Storyteller by six lengths. With back-to-back victories and having placed in each of his last six races, odds of 16/1 are fairly tempting.

Royale Pagaille – Cheltenham Gold Cup

Just last month, Royale Pagaille was as far out as 30/1 to win the Festival showpiece, the Gold Cup. But after three successive victories, those odds have since been slashed to 12/1. The Rich Ricci-owned horse hadn’t won in nine outings. However, the tides turned in December when he won the Betfair Exchange Novices’ Chase at Haydock and a Handicap Chase at Kempton. A further victory at Grade 2 level back at Haydock in January in the Peter Marsh Handicap Chase had the bookies rethinking his place in the market, and he’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Leveling Then Vs Now

WoW Classic is the kind of game you get into because of its imperfections, outdated design choices, and systems. Nobody goes there to chill or to get buckets of content thrown at them. And there’s nothing more quintessential in this game than its leveling system.

This system alone is in and of itself a perfect definition for what the game really has to offer and whether you’re going to like it or not. Has it changed in the two years that it’s been out? Depends on how you look at it. On the one hand, you have your typical progression – first, there were only a couple of dungeons, a few raids. As each Phase came out, it added to the leveling experience in a big way. Sure, the max level always stayed the same. That’s undeniable. However, the player’s approach to leveling has changed. And although, for pro players who managed to reach 60 in a manner of first weeks of Phase 1, an ordinary WoW player would have to submit themselves to the convoluted and seemingly endless questing experience.

Besides, back in the month of the release, it was practically impossible to complete quests due to servers being overflown with gamers. This itself is a big topic, but the point is – if you started to level up these days, it’d feel like a completely different experience. You’d only meet like 1 or 2 players in the starting zone, so you could really turn up the ambiance and music volumes and immerse yourself in the gameplay.

It’s Time to Make Your Move!

Based on all of the above, one can say that, surprisingly, today is the best time to start playing Classic. No more content updates are expected at this point, which means a number of things. First of all, the economy on all servers is more or less settled. You won’t have to experience the auction house agiotage around the time when the new Phase is about to come out. Second of all, no more spontaneous PvP in the contested zones. Even the bloodthirsty PvPers seem to have settled down a little bit, which means that higher levels are more easily achievable. And with much less headache too.

So, yes, it is true that WoW Classic leveling has changed and that it is quite different from what it used to be a few years back. But mostly though, these are good changes that encourage a more relaxed experience – exactly the kind that was intended. By all means, the game is not dead. A lot of players a still exploring the world, but they’re not rushing to get anywhere anymore. This means that this could be your best chance to get into this truly unique game. It’s definitely not too late. It’s about time!